Posted on 01/17/2012 5:46:59 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
[SNIP leading up to the "advice" from a former GW Bush adviser]
....A win in SouthCarolina will be overwhelming proof that Romney is just “right” enough to win the nomination.
If that were to occur, Romney would have won in the conservative Midwest, the more liberal/independent Northeast and the conservative South.
Perry, Santorum and Gingrich need a win, place or show in SouthCarolina to continue to Florida.
...The real question will be one for Gingrich to answer. If Gingrich doesn’t come in a close 2nd or 3rd in South Carolina, will he engage in a “scorched earth policy” that if it is not going to be him, then he will make sure it is not the other guy either.
I hope Gingrich will be smart enough to join ranks and seek to unite the Party and not further divide it.
....After South Carolina those not viable to continue will have to put the Party above their own ambition and ego. They should do what Bachmann, Cain and Huntsman have done and just fade away.
To be considered a viable candidate beyond South Carolina you need four things to continue:
1. Fundraising
2. Organization
3. Message
4. Voter Support
Romney clearly has 1, 2 and 3 in advance of the South Carolina primary, however, the others may have only 1, 2 or 3 but not all 3 to date.
Conservatives sooner rather than later need to come to the realization that the ultimate goal is to defeat Obama. They need to select the best possible nominee in 2012. They need to select someone who is electable by the American people.
At the end of the day it is better to be “just right” than to be totally wrong.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
OK Newt, the time is now.... approach santorum... Gingrich/Santorum... the jedi master now, the young apprentice on deck..
Yeah, well, some of it also should be blindingly obvious. Mitt wins when the conservative vote remains split.
Should they get their wish, I suspect there will be a major split in the Republican Party and the birth of another party.
Judging from history, if Romney is the nominee, he will quickly pivot to the Left, running against Conservatism while threatening Conservatives of the consequences if he is not successful (the “I'm lousy, but look at the other guy” strategy). I don't see Conservatives staying with the herd, not after 2008.
I’d agree with a modification:
Whoever places highest in So Carolina, besides Mitt, becomes the nonMitt standard bearer. All others drop out, support and campaign for him.
Santorum and Perry need to bow out for the sake of the country.
Read the entire piece. Now the "Mitt" goal-post has been moved to Floria.
Bears repeating. And then, when Mitt does win the nomination, some conservatives will take their ball and go home because their guy didn't win. That could very well give us another 4 years of The Destroyer.
This writer agrees with you.
Mitt Romney: The Last Republican President? "There now appears to be an inevitability surrounding Mitt Romney and the Republican nomination for president. Are the American people prepared to sit through another term of George H.W. Bush? The chances are that Romney would be the last Republican president, as the Party may fly apart under his rule. The country would then have to face another round of the Left-dominated Democratic Party in charge and the inevitable collapse that would bring about."...............................
WATCH the scoreboard. The rules are different this time 'round.
What do you believe the results of that will be?
I just don't see a viable third party being an option at this point, as I'm not willing to give in for now and let Obama have 4 more years. If you have some convincing arguments on why we should do that and how we go about building conservatism from there, I'm open.
Absolutely. Either the Non-Rom coalition forms now or it's a done deal.
+1
Governor Perry was outstanding in the debate last night. I would love to see a Gingrich/Perry ticket.
You are dealing in reality. NO ONE can show a way to ever defeat Democrats unless we hang together. Until we have a run off system, there will not be a viable "third party" and those who think it is possible might as well also believe in Santa Claus.
The numbers are not there, we're worrying about getting enough numbers by us all hanging together. To divide is suicide.
And the longer the conservative vote remains split, the harder it will be to knock Romney off his frontrunner perch.
Right after the debate, John King (IIRC) was showing charts of how the candidates stacked up.
Romney was in the negative on most issues, except for foreign policy.
Most of the others were in positive territory on most issues.
It will be interesting to see how Romney’s numbers are in the near future, because, basically, his debate performance last evening was pathetic.
==
That’s EXACTLY what I was gonna post....Gingrich/Santorum, and get out of the way to battle Romeny-the-RINO from here on out....Conservatives can get behind THAT effort.
Re: “Link to a powerful post by FReeper Future Snake Eater:
I think the most destructive force to come along in the Republican primary process was the Herman Cain dog and pony show. He still won’t go away. I don’t remember anyone insisting he drop out, even after the revelations, of a shady personal life. Cainiacs can say all they want about “no proof.”. The truth is, the complaints were filed against him years and years ago. The truth is he stopped making payment that he had been making for thirteen years. Nobody set him up. Somebody just tattled and there was a lot more to come. Still, nobody said to Herman, “If you stay in, Romney will win.”. His donations dried up, that’s all.
The so-called powerful argument at the link suggests the obvious. If there are only two people in the race, the odds are 50-50. Duh.
My question remains. Why can’t we play it out for every citizen’s sake until we’re sure? We don’t know what peril either Newt or Romney will face by the end of any given day. They’ve both been around forever. I want to know everything now. I want Bain discussed ad nauseam. I want to know what decade Newt is in because he tends to make massive changes in his personal life every decade whether it’s relationships or religion. That’s serious stuff to me. I don’t want go wild at a pep rally only to lose the game on the field. Let the process work. IMHO.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.